Following Meta’s $115 million investment to accelerate the hiring and training of more craftsmen amid an industry-wide labor shortage, Associated Builders and Contractors President and CEO Michael Bellaman and National Center for Education and Research in Construction President and CEO Boyd Worsham says the tech company’s plan is a big step toward a brighter future for construction.
During an interview on the ENR Groundbreakers podcast, Bellaman and Worsham praised the show, which features training for craft careers including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, welding and fiber installation—as the right move at the right time to fuel the demands of AI infrastructure development across the country. according to global research consulting firm McKinseyUS AI infrastructure spending is expected to reach $6.7 trillion by 2030, driven by data center project hyperscalers such as Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Meta.
“Based on our analysis, we see a workforce of 350,000 people [shortage] this year It has been chronic. It’s been happening for a while, and they’re starting to see how they’re trying to step up in this race for artificial intelligence, they’re starting to see how it affects them,” Bellaman explains. As for why ABC became Meta’s partner in the labor initiative, Bellaman says “they needed labor, so we started these conversations years ago. Meta, as a leader, said we have to do something about it, and so they started exploring that option with us and made that investment.”
America’s Workforce Academy will be launched in the states of Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas. Meta will cover some of the up-front costs that can be barriers for those looking to learn trade skills, such as travel assistance, housing and living stipends.
Participants accepted into the program will receive a conditional job offer to work on one of Meta’s data center construction projects, such as the technology company’s. planned $27 billion data center in Louisiana’s Richland Parish. Participants will also earn NCCER credentials.
“If you think about it, this is not only good for the hyperscaler project. This is good for society,” says Worsham. “This is providing life-changing career opportunities to people who may not have them.”
For many program participants, “Some of these people will never have been involved in a construction project,” says Worsham. “Now they’re doing the biggest construction project in the country.”
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Asked how ABC intends to make sure migrant workers feel safe taking advantage of the opportunity amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, Bellaman said: “I think, quite simply, if you’re here in the United States and you’re here legally and you’re allowed to work here legally.—no problem.”
Bellaman says ABC is strengthening congressional support for bills like the bipartisan Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act (HR 5494) to create a H-2C non-agricultural temporary worker visa program ia more robust and legal work visa process to tackle severe labor shortage.
“The H-2B visa system, for our industry, just doesn’t work. The numbers don’t make any sense. If it was in place 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have many of the problems we have today,” says Bellaman. “We’re in a global competition, all right, and I think what’s happening now is that this country is finally realizing that a secret to the success of this country has been, has to be, has to be and will be a key to our workforce, our workforce.”
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